The former surgeon general of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), Dr Vejay Ramlakan died in a Johannesburg hospital.
His is suspected to have died from a heart attack on Thursday.
He died at the age of 62.
The doctor wrote a tell-all book about statesman Nelson Mandela’s final days.
The ANC’s Pule Mabe said: “Dr Ramlakan was a freedom fighter in his own name and right who, at the height of repression, served as a member of Umkhonto WeSizwe charged with the responsibility of commanding Operation Butterfly, an underground command structure in the greater Durban area.
“Dr Ramlakan belongs to a coterie of distinguished freedom fighters who sacrificed their personal comfort for the liberation of the rest of SA’s people. We salute this outstanding activist of our struggle for liberation.”
Ramlakan was in the national executive of the Ex-Political Prisoners Association before his death.
“May his family, friends and colleagues find solace in knowing their loss is the nation’s loss,” said Mabe.
